


A Day to Remember

by Tamasha



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Accidents, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Concussions, Feels, Friends to Lovers, Gay, Happy Ending, Horseback Riding, Horses, Hospitals, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Memory Loss, Modern Era, One Shot, Regret, Relationship(s), Romance, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 16:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7539271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin goes to visit his best friend Arthur at uni, and Arthur decides to take him horseback riding. Unfortunately, there is an accident and Arthur has to wonder: has he lost his best friend for good?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day to Remember

**Author's Note:**

> written by Natasha

Merlin was going horseback riding. He had always loved horses, and he finally was getting to go riding! Visiting Arthur at university was a gift in more than one way. Obviously, he got to spend time with an old friend whom he had not seen in far too long and had missed far too much. He also had the pleasure of viewing Arthur’s new apartment and playing his extensive game collection. The most selfish of Merlin’s reasons for enjoying his time in Oxford, though, was Arthur’s great wealth and many contacts. He had treated Merlin to myriad snacks and treats, introduced him to the head of the anthropology department, and now arranged for horseback riding with his friend Elena.

The whole drive to Elena's stables, Merlin was jittery with excitement. He'd never actually ridden a horse, unless you count being led in a circle on a pony. Arthur had gone a few times since moving up north, and he was always excellent with athletic things, but he promised not to tease Merlin too much. Actually, Merlin probably wouldn't even notice if he did, just as he didn't notice Arthur’s smug smirk he sported on the way there.

The moment Arthur parked the car, Merlin lept to the ground and then grumbled as Arthur took his time gathering his belongings and locking the car. However, he let Arthur lead the way to the stable, because he now remembered that he would first have to meet Arthur's new friend, Elena. Merlin was not jealous - he was perfectly confident that he was still Arthur’s best friend - but he was a little shy. That’s all.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry long. She was waiting for them outside the stables and she trotted over as soon as she saw them. “Hey, Arthur! Merlin,” she greeted and hugged Arthur. Merlin shifted, awkward, until they pulled apart. Elena was pretty, in a cowgirl sort of way. She had wild blond hair tied into a ponytail, jeans, and honest-to-god cowboy boots. When she was done hugging Arthur, she shook Merlin’s hand and gave him a sloppy grin.

“I’m glad you could come, Merlin.” She turned towards the stables and motioned for them to follow. “I have my own horse and three boarders; it’s hard to exercise them all as much as they need it."

"Oh," Merlin hummed. "Well, I'm glad to help. This really is a delight for me." Arthur flashed him a grin as they walked through the doors.

Elena moved to the first stall and began to bring out the bay horse inside. "Monty here is my own. He has lots of energy, but he's a good horse. I thought I would let you ride him, Merlin, because you are a beginner, and I know Monty will take care of you."

"Alright," Merlin responded. Elena showed Arthur his mount and then came back to saddle Monty. She explained every step of what she was doing to Merlin, who tried his best to soak it all in. Then, she got a third horse ready for herself while Arthur finished with his own.

Once everything was ready, they mounted up and headed out to the field. The enclosed area wasn’t too big, so Elena said they could do as they wanted. They would be within sight range no matter what. For a while, Merlin followed Arthur around, but as he gained confidence, he decided to see how Monty responded to him alone being in charge.

The horse walked all the way to one end of the field, and then Merlin turned him in a few circles, getting the hang of using the bridle and the way Monty reacted to him. After a bit, he saw Arthur waving to him, so he faced the other end of the field again. Monty was lumbering along slowly, even slower than he had on the way here, so Merlin tapped his sides to encourage him. He immediately began trotting.

The trot was bouncy, but in a harsh, jolting way. Merlin felt certain there was a better way to handle it, but he did not know how and before he had much time to consider it, Monty picked up his speed.

This was too much, too fast. Merlin pulled back on the reins, but he didn’t slow down. The wind started biting at Merlin’s face and then he was abruptly tilting dramatically to the right. “Woah!” he tried shouting, like he was taught, but Monty did not respond. He pulled on the reins harder, harder, but his body was slipping downward and inside the flood of fear, there wasn’t much room to think of anything _._ An image flashed in his mind, though, of the movies where a rider would get one foot caught in the stirrup and then drag on the ground behind the horse. So he let go.

 

~~~

 

Arthur could only watch in shock as Merlin’s horse picked up speed. He had never seen an animal move so fast in his life. Or probably he had, in horse races, and that should not be replicated without practice and expertise. To his horror, Arthur realized that Merlin was leaning too far from the saddle, and slipping further. He was already dismounting as he saw Merlin lose his seat and slam head-first into the ground.

“Merlin!” he shouted and started running to Merlin’s side without giving a thought about either of their horses. Merlin was still almost halfway across the field from him and Arthur was wasting precious seconds just in getting there.

When he did reach his friend, Merlin was starting to push himself up, blinking owlishly. Arthur gasped as he crouched down and steadied Merlin’s shoulder. “Hey, slow down. It’s okay, you don’t need to stand up yet.” Arthur sent a wordless prayer of gratitude to whomever might be up there listening. Merlin was alive and awake. That had to be a good sign.

“I…. What…” Merlin started to speak, but he was forming the words slowly, and Arthur noticed that his pupils were blown wide. His heartbeat sped up again. He didn’t know any first aid at all, and he suddenly regretted that mistake fiercely.

“Shh, shh…” he murmured, sitting Merlin up. Elena had arrived by his side now, and she started to look Merlin over nervously, wringing her hands.

“Is he okay? Maybe we should get him something to drink. Water? Um, or something with sugar, right? I have cranberry juice in the fridge…” Arthur was only half listening to Elena, so he nodded absently in response. It did occur to him once Elena ran off that cranberry juice didn’t exactly make sense, but what did he know? It had to be better than doing nothing.

“Where am I?” Merlin asked quietly. Arthur immediately refocused on him.

He was touching his head gingerly and then he started to stand up, so Arthur chose to help him rather than risk making him fall. “We went horseback riding, remember? We are at my friend Elena’s ranch.” Arthur spoke slowly, feeling a little anxious. Why had Merlin forgotten?

Merlin’s face pinched into a moue of confusion and Arthur remembered how adorable his best friend could be. For a long time, he had harbored a crush on Merlin. He had figured Merlin wasn’t gay, or he would have said something, but that didn’t really abate Arthur’s feelings. Merlin took a deep breath and then asked, “In… in London?” Arthur’s breath caught. Did Merlin have a concussion? Had he lost his memory? Was he going to get it back?

He tried to modulate his voice as he said, “No, M, we’re in Oxford. You came to visit me at Uni.”

Merlin just licked his lips, frowning, but then Elena came trotting back with a paper cup of juice. “Here, Merlin, I brought you some cranberry juice.” Merlin took the cup, but didn’t drink any of it, instead looking around the field. “Merlin?” Elena said, her voice rising in pitch. “I think maybe you should have a drink, okay?”

“Okay,” Merlin murmured and took a sip of his drink. He made a face, and Arthur recalled that Merlin had never liked cranberry juice. But Elena knew what she was doing. Didn’t she? He tugged on her arm and turned away from Merlin slightly.

Elena stepped away and then faced Arthur, raising both brows. “Do you know what you’re doing, Elena?” he asked seriously.

“I -” she began, and glanced at Merlin. “I think we should -”

Arthur cut her off. “He didn’t remember where he was. I think he hit his head pretty hard; we should call emergency services.”

Elena bit her lip, much too uncertain for Arthur’s liking. “Okay, I guess you’re right… but I’ll go get Percival, one of the stable hands. He has a truck, so he can take you guys right to the hospital.”

“Yeah,” Arthur breathed. “That sounds good.” And then Elena was off again. Arthur turned back to Merlin and saw that he had finished his drink. “Hey, how are you feeling, Merlin?”

“My head hurts,” Merlin whined and he lifted a hand again to his forehead where there was a small cut. “What happened?”

Arthur tensed, his fear increasing by the minute. “You fell off a horse, M. I think you hit your head pretty bad. We’re going to take you to the hospital, okay?”

Merlin’s brow furrowed. “A horse? Where?”

Arthur swallowed down a lump. “Just outside of Oxford. Remember? You were visiting me, and we decided to go horseback riding with my friend Elena.” A decision that he was very much regretting now.

“I’m… I’m in Oxford?” he asked weakly, brow still furrowed.

“Yes,” Arthur said gently. “Hey, let’s not worry about that. Do you think you can walk back to the house? Elena’s getting a truck for us.”

“Why are we getting in a truck?” Merlin asked.

“We need to take you to the hospital,” Arthur reminded him. And he was in no state to drive, himself. He was shaking now, from adrenaline.

Merlin bit his lip and rubbed his head again. “Who was that blonde girl?”

Arthur took Merlin’s hand, just to make sure he was steady while he walked over the uneven grass. He noticed that someone - Percival maybe? - had taken the horses back in. It was just them in the field now. “That was my friend Elena,” Arthur told him, trying to be patient.

Merlin just kept asking the same questions until the truck pulled up. A young man was in the driver’s seat. “Hey, you ready?” he called.

“Yeah, I think so,” Arthur replied, walking closer at Merlin’s hobbling pace.

The man nodded, eyeing Merlin with concern. “You two will have to squish; the middle seat barely fits a full grown adult.”

“It’s okay,” Arthur assured him. “Merlin’s small, and we don’t mind squishing. Thank you so much for driving us. I don’t know if I could handle it right now.” His arm was around Merlin’s waist now and he helped him up into the truck first.

“Where are we going?” Merlin asked as he buckled his seatbelt. It was scary seeing him like this. His pupils were dilated wide and he had no sense of his surroundings. It was like whatever part that made him Merlin was gone. Arthur could only hope it would come back.

The entire drive to the hospital was filled with Merlin’s questions, over and over again. Arthur tried to answer each time, but it was exhausting. He was already terrified and Merlin wasn’t exactly helping. Percival kept quiet, but he looked very worried whenever Arthur spared him a glance. Arthur tried to manage his breathing and kept a firm grip on Merlin’s hand. He couldn’t lose his best friend. Merlin didn’t even know that Arthur loved him!

They arrived at the hospital in about ten minutes. As soon as a nurse saw Merlin, she hurried him to a room. Arthur thanked Percival again, and then parted ways with him to follow Merlin and the nurse back. They sat Merlin down on the hospital bed and checked his vitals, shined a light in his eyes, and then asked him some questions. Merlin couldn’t answer most of them, which seemed to upset him, but he didn’t voice his frustration. Arthur ended up explaining what had happened. That first nurse left then, but a new nurse arrived after a few minutes and started to clean up Merlin’s cuts. He had the small one on his forehead and one on his cheek. His arms and one knee were scraped up too, but they would probably heal after scabbing. Arthur was most worried about Merlin’s head, and his memory.

“Your friend is pretty lucky,” the nurse remarked. Arthur nodded. That was true, and he had felt the relief over that already. Still, Merlin didn’t know where he was or what had happened, and it wouldn’t be very lucky if things stayed that way. “He has a concussion, but the rest is just scrapes and bruises. The doctor will probably want a CT scan to be sure there is no internal bleeding in his skull.”

Arthur widened his eyes. “Okay,” he answered, feeling small and alone. When the nurse left, promising the doctor would be in soon, Arthur gathered his thoughts enough to call Merlin’s mum, Hunith. She was actually visiting family in Ireland, but she would want to know. “Hello, Hunith. It’s me, Arthur.”

“Arthur, what a surprise! Is everything okay?” asked the cheerful voice on the other end. Arthur felt sick to his stomach.

“Um, no, actually. Not really. I’m with Merlin at the hospital. He fell off a horse and the nurse thinks he has a concussion. The doctor hasn’t come in yet though.”

“Oh my god.” There was a brief pause after that. Arthur had never heard Hunith swear before. “Is he doing okay? How did he fall? I’m not in England right now; should I find a flight back?”

Arthur sighed. He didn’t really have answers yet, but he didn’t want to make Hunith more worried than she needed to be. “He’s… he mostly just has scratches,” Arthur repeated what the nurse had said. “But he hit his head pretty hard and he doesn’t remember where he is or what happened. I think he’ll be all right, but I can call as soon as I hear anything. You don’t need to end your trip early, I don’t think. The doctor should be in soon.”

“Oh my god,” Hunith said again. “Okay. Keep me up to date. It will probably confuse him to talk to me right now, then, but let me know if he asks for me, all right? And… take care of him, Arthur.”

Arthur had known Hunith as long as he had known Merlin, almost. He knew she liked him, but this was a sudden and huge responsibility. “Okay. I will, Hunith.” They hung up after saying goodbye, and Arthur found Merlin staring at him with his wide eyes.

“Was that my mum?” he asked nervously. Arthur just nodded. Should he let Merlin call her back? But Merlin moved on quickly. “Are we in the hospital?”

Arthur froze. Merlin hadn’t remembered that yet. Was this a good sign? “Yes, Merlin, we are. You fell off a horse, so we came to make sure you were okay.”

Merlin snorted a laugh, but Arthur didn’t untense. “A horse? How did I manage that? That must be my clumsiest achievement yet.”

Arthur was still frowning. He was heartened by Merlin’s humor, but he wouldn’t feel better about this whole thing until the doctor himself said that everything was fine. Merlin continued to ask questions, but he seemed to be remembering things more and more. Said doctor arrived after only a few more minutes and he checked everything the nurses had. “Looks like it’s just a concussion,” he announced. “But I’d like to do a CT scan to make sure there is no internal bleeding. I’ll go order the test, and a technician will be in here shortly.”

Arthur thanked the doctor and then they were alone again. He took a deep breath and faced Merlin again. Things were looking up.

 

~~~

 

He was in a hospital. He had fallen from a horse, though he didn’t remember going horseback riding. He was starting to remember the fall, though. The horse had been going so fast, and Merlin couldn’t make it stop. Then he was falling to the side from the saddle. He had clung to his seat as best he could, but then… he remembered the sensation of flying and then a vague feeling of collision.

Arthur was here, next to him, and he looked very worried. Merlin felt bad for making Arthur worry. He wanted to reassure him, but he didn’t know what to say. And he was tired, so tired. He would rather just lie here than say anything.

“Do you need anything, Merlin?” Arthur asked eventually. Merlin started to shake his head but it throbbed, so he stopped.

“No,” he croaked instead. “Where are we?” he asked.

Arthur sighed. “You are at the hospital in Oxford.” That sounded familiar. And of course he was at a hospital; he had fallen and hit his head. He was waiting for a CT right now.

“Have I asked that already?” Merlin questioned his friend, nervous.

Arthur straightened and looked at him closer. “Yeah… you kind of lost your memory. You were asking me every couple seconds for a while.”

“Oh,” Merlin said. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry!” Arthur said, alarmed. “You got hurt, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. I’m just glad you’re doing okay. I was really scared for a while there, Merlin.” Merlin’s mouth went dry. He did look scared, even now.

“Did I forget who you were?”

Arthur cocked his head. “No, you seemed to know who I was the whole time. You asked who other people were, but not me.” He seemed a little perplexed by this.

“Probably because I’ve known you for so long,” Merlin offered. “And you’re like… my best friend.”

“Yeah,” Arthur agreed, but he seemed sad. “Probably.”

“Are _you_ okay?” Merlin asked.

Arthur smiled at him. “Just tired.” He looked down at his lap.

Suddenly a fragment of a memory surfaced. Merlin blinked. “Did someone make me drink… cranberry juice?”

This, for some reason, was what got a laugh out of Arthur. “My friend, Elena. The one who owns the horses. I guess it didn’t really make sense, but she suggested it, and I was so focused on you, I wasn’t going to argue.”

“Huh,” Merlin mused. “Weird.” Arthur chuckled, and then just kept smiling at Merlin.

“You know, I am really glad I didn’t lose you.”

“Lose me?” Merlin echoed.

Arthur nodded. “At first, when you wouldn’t stop asking where you were, I thought you were going to be stuck like that forever. And it just wasn’t you - it was like a shell of you.”

Merlin took an unsteady breath. That was a little scary just to think about. But on this end of things, he was only confused and fuzzy-headed. “Well,” Merlin offered. “I’m back. I think.”

Arthur smiled. Looked at his lap again. Then lifted his head back to Merlin, his face determined. “If something worse had happened today, Merlin, there is something I would regret never telling you. Since you are okay now, I want to say it.” He paused long enough that Merlin almost prompted him to continue. Then, “I love you.”

Merlin blinked. “Oh.”

A man walked into the room right at that moment and started explaining to Merlin about a CT scan and what he would need to do. Merlin was obviously distracted, and everything still felt fuzzy and distant, anyway. He mostly just looked at Arthur, eyes wide, while the man talked. Arthur refocused his attention on the instructions.

They worked together to resettle Merlin into a wheelchair and then moved him down the hallways. Merlin zoned out until they entered a room and the man asked Merlin to lie down on a cot. There was a large, black machine above it. Merlin looked around the room. “Arthur?”

Arthur appeared at his side and took his hand. “I’m right here, M. It’s okay.”

Merlin nodded and eased onto the bed, still holding Arthur’s hand.

“This is just going to take a few minutes. Hold still,” the man told him, and then he stepped away to a computer. Merlin kept his head as still as possible but found Arthur’s eyes.

“Did you mean it?” he whispered.

Arthur bit his lower lip. He looked nervous. “Yes, Merlin. I have for a very long time. I just… I didn’t want to say anything.”

“Why?” Merlin wondered.

“Well, because you didn’t seem to show any interest, and… you were dating Freya for a while, and… I just didn’t want to make things awkward.”

“Wow,” Merlin breathed. “That long?” Freya had been three years ago. Arthur nodded again. “Arthur?” His voice sounded unsteady, even to his own ears.

“Okay, boys, that’s it!” the cheerful technician interrupted. Arthur turned to him, looking very tense. “We’ll take him back to his room and the doctor will have a look at these scans and then come talk to you about what he thinks,” he told Arthur. Then the two of them helped Merlin into his wheelchair again. The other man was the one to push Merlin, so that Arthur could walk right next to him, but he decided to wait until they were alone again to say anything.

Once Merlin was lying in the hospital bed again, Arthur sat down slowly on a chair. “Arthur?” Merlin said finally.

“What is it, M?”

“I think I love you too. I mean… I never thought about it before, but you are my best friend. Well, more than that. I do love you. And the kissing and stuff… I guess I do think about that sometimes. I just never imagined it would ever come up.”

Arthur blinked. Then he stood up, smiling slowly, and moved to the side of Merlin’s bed. “You mean, you love me too?”

Merlin smiled. “Well… yes, I suppose so.”

Arthur raised a brow imperiously. “That’s not very reassuring, Merlin.”

“Give me time!” Merlin protested. Arthur laughed and took Merlin’s hand again.

The doctor came in after a while and gave Merlin the all-clear. He would have to take pain medication for the next two weeks or so, and he wasn’t supposed to be alone for the first couple days. Arthur assured the doctor that he wouldn’t leave Merlin’s side. If the pain got worse, or Merlin developed any new symptoms, they were to return to the hospital immediately. Otherwise, though, he was going to be fine.

More than fine.

He had Arthur to take care of him.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is essentially my real life story. I am Merlin, and this happened to me with my best friend. Even the love confession is true... but I didn't reciprocate. :/ So in this version, I made a little edit so that Merlin and Arthur could have their happy ending. :) I hope you enjoy it!


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